* community,”

‘Force big mills —

to kick 3

in cash’

- Tassie demands

_-PORT ALBERNI, B.C.

Clarke Tasse, fe civic’ affairs column. in the West Coast
Advocate has become widely known in the past few months, announced
this week that he will run for alderman in the “municipal elections
December 10 on a program of assessment reform.

Charging discrimination in pro- |

perty assessment, Tasse said it was
time that labor was properly PEpEey
sented on city council. ©
“Companies that take the ep
out of our community must pay '
their share of maintaining our
said Tasse. “Citizens

. pay 60 mills on 35 percent of im-

provements. Yet big corporations
like Bloedell, Stewart and Welch
and APL get off almost scot free.

-If they were paying their share,

in Burnaby

Burmaby Minielpal Improvement Association has
candidates for council and two for school
Heading the slate 1s

will fight to lift the

there would be $42,000 a year more
for schools, sidewalks and roads.
Instead we are faced with a $50.-
000 by-law for the 10th Avenue fill.
“A labor alderman must be one
who will assert himself in the in-
terests of that section of the tax-
payers on whose earnings business
itself depends. : f
“The constructive planning - in
the works department, which re-
‘sulted in a fair amount of paving
sidewalks and sewers, was put into

’ piactice by a determined represen-
tative of labor, Walter Yates, who |

at all times and on every issue
put labor’s neéds ‘before the coun-
cil. \

“Can the civic 4mprovement pro-
gram be maintained and the taxes
on working class homes be re-
duced?
yes. Can the civic arena project,
and the 10th Avenue fill as well,
be undertaken and accomplished,
and at the same time taxes general-
ly reduced? Again — YES.”
Dubbing McMillan and Bloedell
“privileged characters”, Tasse’

My answer is decidedly, .

CLARKE TASSIE

their combined holdings of land
and improvements, and the actual
value of these. holdings, represents
a “fantastic sum”.
“These” companies pay taxes on
a fixed assessment of slightly more
than a million dollars,” said Tasse.
“In round figures, their holdings
are probably worth 21, 000,000.
“When I am elected to city coun-
cil, I will fight to end this unjust,
preferential treatment and foitce

pointed out that the differences
between the fixed assessments on

these companies to bear their fair
share of the taxation load.’

Tax reform

‘10 municipal elections:

railroader and former councillor,
year on a recount by 16 votes,

On the’ “Improvement Association
counci] slate with Harry Ball are
_Fraser Wilson, “prominent artist,
John Greene and William Tuiner.

Mrs. Catherine J. Marsh and Mrs.
Elizabeth Wilson are running for
school board. Mrs. RTRs is a for-
mer trustee.

Tax reform is a main issue in
the Burnaby elections. Candidates
burden of
incitzasing taxation from. the
shoulders of home-owners and
assess industry and other revenue

producing property in line with its}

ability to pay.

Said Harry Ball: “We propose i
assess value of property to 75 per-
cent on improvements for taxation;
and lower the mill 1ate to benefit
the average homeowner and small
business man.

“We also propose to increase by
100 percent the tax on public uti-
lities; and to raise’ license fees on
big “business and lower fees on
small businesses.”

key issue
elections

—-BURNABY, B.C.
nominated — four
board in the December
Harry Ball, well-known

who narrowly missed election last

‘film of Beaynes,

Vancouver advance poll

| four

Immediately after ponding that |
a contract to install sewers in the
area between Granville and Hud-
son, extending from 54th to 63rd
Avenue, had been awarded to the
Manning Ltd.,
Ruddell contacted Jack Phillips,
secretary of the Civic Employees
Union( Outside Workers) local 28,
to get the union reaction to coun-
cil’s move.

“According to the daily press,
this firm put in the lowest bid,”
Phillips told Ruddell. “No wonder
their bid was low. They pay a
ditch digger 90 cents an hour. The
rate established by our union for
this. work is $1.13 per houi. Fur-
thermore, men working for the
firm do not get paid for statutory
holidays, work a 44-hour week and.
do not get any of the social bene-
fits enjoyed by the memhers of the
union I belong to, such as health
insurance.”

Phillips explained that _this is
the first time the city has award-
ed a sewer contract to a private
firm since the inception of the 10-
year civic improvement program.
All previous sewer construction
work has been done under union
conditions by the City Engineering
department.

“In the opinion of the union I)
represent, ” said Phillips, “the city
can do the work cheaper and more
efficiently, providing they compete
on a fair basis with firms operating
under union conditions, because
the city is not.in the business to
make profits, and they have an
experienced staff and the equip-
ment to do this type of work.

“Had I the property qundinses
tions to enter the aldermanic race,
I'd run myself on this issue, for
it is one that vitally concerns our
union*as well as all trade unionists.
Labor wants to see our city built
up, but not on sweatshop wages.
Our union intends to ask every
aldermanic candidate to state his
or her position on this basic issue.”

®

Ruddell’s position is that the
city should do all construction
work of this nature; in cases where
contracts are let cut, the work
should be done under Union wages
and conditions. ©

Phillips said that all” pubiness
agents of the Building Tuades
Council had taken this stand, and
added: “The firm in question sign-
ed a master contract’ with the
building trades long ago, but never
lived up to it. If they paid union
wages, they couldn’t have under-
taken this contract. Union wage
seale. for basic labor is, $1.15 an
hour.”

“Unless all labor unites to fight
this threat to undermine union
working conditions in Vancouver,”
says Ruddell, “we may find our-
selves becoming an open shop city.

to elect labor spokesmen to city
council, men and women who will
battle for. union conditions at all
TARR e f

on December 10, 12, 13

Vancouver civic elections ad-
vance poll will be located in city

day, December 12, from 8.30 a.m.
to 5 p.m., and on Tuesday, Decem-
ber 18, from 8.30 a.m. till 12 o’clock
noon.

Voters’ list this year shows 182,-
000 property owners: and tenants
eligible to vote. Voting will be for
aldermen, four school trus-
tees and three park commissioners.
For the first time since 1945 there

One sure way to prevent this is |.

hall as usual, and will be open on
-|Saturday, December 10, and Mon-

as

jasts council
on non-union sewer deal

City ‘council's action in awarding a $171,960 sewer contract
union wages was roundly condemned by Elgin Ruddell.
didate, this week. Ruddell denounced letting of the contract
and conditions of the whole trade union movemeit in Vancouver.”

to a private fina paying non-

Civic Reform Association aldermanic’ can-

“a threat to the

wage standards

}

MRS ELIZABETH WILSON

She is candidate for school
board in Burnaby.

Civic Reform

asks for $$$

“You pay a dime every time you
board a stizet car or bus in Van-
couver. Will you contribute a dol-
lar to help elect aldermen who will
fight for civic ownership of BCER
and reduced fares?”

. That's the question Civic Reform

|

traffic on main streets.

i

Association asked Vancouver citi-.

zens this week, as the campaign to
elect Effie Jones and Elgin Rud-
dell to city council on CeSanner
14 got under way.

“Tf a few hundred readers of the
Pacific Tribune feel concerned
enough about the BCER fare and
owner'ship issue to slip a dollar
bill into an envelope and mail it
to thé Civic Reform Association,
Ford Building, Main and Hastings.
oul! campaign will be greatly
strengthened,” said. a CRA official
this week.

“We're out to win the support of
all the straphangers, the people
who ride to and from work every
day on the BCER. We can reach
them if we issue tens of thousands
of leaflets, which will be distributed
at busy car and bus stops to all
passengers. But it takes money to
issue leaflets in the quantity we
feel is necessary to do the job
right.”

CRA election headquarters are
now open in the basement of the
Ford building, and volunteeu' distri-
butors are needed between 2 p.m.
and 8 p.m. every Saad

BCER two-bit fare
blocked by taxi owners

Strong . protests from taxicab
owners this week temporarily
blocked a BCElectric seheme to
operate, ‘express bus services to

| special functions at 25¢ per pas-

senger.

Probably awaie of the old story

about the camel and the tent, taxi-
cab owners realized that if BCER

invaded their field, ars would soon
be squeezed out.

City council, always ready to give

BCElectric everything it asks for,

was forced to delay approval of
the scheme to make an examina-
tion of the taxicab/ owners’ legiti-

mate protests. {

If the BCER~ manages to win

final approval, passengers who now |

stand up after paying a dime will |

find

will be no mayoralty contest. -

xi

themselves still standing after |
{being rooked for a quarter.

‘Let's follow
Toronto lead’

Effie urges

“Public ownership of BCElectric
and lower fares are the main points

jin. my campaign for a seat on city

council this year,” Effie Jones,
Civic Reform Association candi-
date, told Vancouve1 voters in a
leaflet distributed at car and bus
stops this week.

“Toronto \has- a publicly-owned
j transit system. Fares are four for |
|25 cents and the service is the
ibest on the North American con-
tinent. _ Starting this year, it is
building a $32,000,000 subway,
which will put an end to street car
This is
being: done without asking an extra -

\ five cents of the taxpayers’ money.

“If Toronto can do it, so ean
Vancouver. It is high time we
took over the BCER and operated
it as a public service. Public own-
ership would mean more civic
revenue, a more efficient system,
better roads and cheaper fares.”

Effie Jones, and Elgin Ruddell,
CRA candidates for aldermanic
seats, addressed a meeting, of citi-
zens in Fishermen’s Hall, organ-
ized by the Committee for Public
Ownership. Other candidates were
invited but failed to appear.

Ruddell advocated taking over
BCER and reminded ,the audience
that in Toronto, Montreal and Ot- —
tawa transit fares are still four
for 25 cents. “If it is possible —
to operate; transit systems profit-_
ably in those cities, there is no
reason why we can’t do the same
‘thing here,” he said.

Mayor is proud
he’s not 2000
years too slow

Tories and Liberals masquerad-
ing under a “Non-Partisan Asso-
ciation” label gathered in posh _
Hotel Vancouver this week to _
select candidates for office in the
coming civic elections.

Previously: hand-picked by > the vg

“backroom boys” who run NPA
affairs, an assortment of old-time —
wheelhorses and budding young
bootlickers were trotted out for
inspection and given the stamp of
approval by the Tory-Liberal din- —
ner guests. Z

Mayor Charles (Electric) Thomp-
fson delivered the main address, —
and apologized for failure to carry _
out last year’s promised program
by lamely explaining that’ “Rome
wasn’t built in a day. We are
building Vancouver a lot faster
than they built Rome.”

Nominate 5 candidates
in New Westminster
_ NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C.

Sapperton’ and Queensborough _
ratepayers have nominated five

the coming civic elections.

Hugh Clarke and M. Olson will
seek aldermanic seats;
is running for police commissioner;
M. Johnson is contesting a seat on
school board; and W. Russel is in
pene park board race.

An election committee has béen ;
|set up to plan a lively campaign
and numerous house meetings and
| public rallies are being arranged.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — NOVEMBER’ 18, 1949 — PAGE 7

candidates to contest positions in : ;

G. Baxter _